ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan- Ranking of Cities under National Clean Air Programme 
A two day National Conference of Ministers of Environment, Forest and Climate Change was held in Ekta Nagar, Gujarat on 23-24th September, 2022. The conference was inaugurated by the Prime Minister virtually.
During a parallel session on Control and Prevention of Pollution, the States were informed regarding guidelines on ‘Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan- Ranking of Cities’ released under National Clean Air Programme .
Under the guidance of the Minister for Environment, Forest and climate Change, the Ministry is going to launch Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan that promotes ranking of 131 cities in the country for implementing City Action Plans prepared as part of National Clean Air Programme  for reducing air pollution upto 40% by 2025-26.
131 cities are categorized into three groups based on population. 47 cities are in the first group having population more than 10 lakh. 44 cities are in the second group having population between 3 to 10 lakh. Third group consists of 40 cities having population less than 3 lakh.
Cities are required to do the self-assessment as per the framework provided on PRANA online portal. This assessment is carried out annually. Cities have to report implementation of activities and measures taken in respect of solid waste management, road dust management, management of construction and demolition waste, control of vehicular emissions and industrial pollution.
It was informed that based on the self-assessment and third party assessment, 3 best performing cities in each group will be given cash award in the spirit of competitive federalism. This promotes constructive competition in the spirit of competitive federalism to take measures to improve air quality. This Survekshan provides a tool to cities to plan their actions in order to improve the air quality. It is not based on the measurement of the air quality parameters to rank the cities. It is based on the actions taken by the cities to improve the air quality in different domains. The actions taken by the cities would result in the improvement of air quality. It thus, provides a planning implementation tool to improve the air quality and the assessment of the cities regarding how better they have aligned their actions to improve the air quality.
The Ministers of Environment, Forest and Climate Change from across the country participated in the National conference organised by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. State Forest and Environment Ministers, the concerned State Secretaries as well as Chairmen of State PCBs / PCCs along with PCCFs also participated in the two-day National Conference along with senior officials of the Ministry.
Ministry of External Affairs
Cabinet approves MoU between India and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Migration and Mobility Partnership
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the signing of Memorandum of Understanding  on Migration and Mobility Partnership between the Government of the Republic of India and Her Majesty’s Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland .
Objectives:
The MoU is aimed at Liberalising issuance of visas promoting mobility of students, researchers and skilled professionals and strengthen cooperation on issues related to irregular migration and human trafficking between the two sides.
The MoU would benefit Indian students, academics, and researchers, migrants for professional and economic reasons and those willing to contribute through various projects to the economic development of both countries without consideration of caste, creed, religion or gender. This MoU can support the innovation ecosystem in both countries by facilitating free flow of talent.
Ministry of External Affairs would closely monitor the effective implementation of the MoU through Joint Working Group mechanism.
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Ministry of Railways
To deepen the inter-governmental railway co-operation between two countries, Two Memorandum of Understanding  between India and Bangladesh signed
Reinstating friendship bond between India & Bangladesh
Following the visit of Multi-sectoral scoping Indian Railways delegation to Bangladesh in April 2022 and the recent meeting between Minister of Railways of India and Bangladesh Railway Minister on 1st June 2022, to further promote friendly cooperation between the two countries and deepen the inter-governmental railway co-operation between the two countries, Two Memorandum of Understanding  between India and Bangladesh have been prepared. These MoUs have been signed and exchanged on 06th September 2022 during the visit of Hon’ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina to India.
- Memorandum of Understanding on “Training of Bangladesh Railway Employees in the training Institute of Indian Railways”
The purpose of this MoU is to provide the framework of cooperation and to facilitate training of employees of Bangladesh Railway at the training institutes of Indian Railways including field visits. This will include designing, coordinating, conducting seminars, workshops, classroom and fields training. Indian Railways will also coordinate with officials of Ministry of Railways, Government of Bangladesh, as required, including visiting and assisting in setting up and improving training facilities in Bangladesh and study requirements.
- Memorandum of Understanding on “Collaboration in IT Systems such as FOIS and other IT applications for Bangladesh Railway”.
For all aspects of computerization like passenger ticketing, freight operations and control office, train inquiry system, digitization of asset management, HR and Finance infrastructure in Bangladesh Railway, Ministry of Railway, Government of India, through Centre for Railway Information System , will offer IT solutions to Bangladesh Railway.
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
Govt ensuring Adequate availability of Fertilisers in the country : Gowda
Union Chemicals and Fertilizers minister shri DV Sadananda Gowda has said that Department of Fertilizers of his Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers is making all efforts to ensure an adequate supply of fertilizers for the upcoming Kharif season. In a tweet Shri Gowda said that as of now, availability position is comfortable.
Shri Gowda said government is committed to supply adequate quantity of fertilizers to farmer on time. Department of Fertilizers is closely monitoring the production, movement & availability of fertilizers, and is in regular touch with State Governments & M/o Railways on the same.
Referring to Karnataka in a separate tweet the Minister said ,"As far as Karnataka is concerned, there is no shortage of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides in the State. We are working in close coordination with the Karnataka Government on this matter. As of now, the State has stock of 7.3 lakh tons against monthly requirement of 2.57 lakh tons.
National Fertilizers limited- NFL , PSU under department of fertilizers has said in a tweet their Plants at Nangal, Bathinda, Panipat and Vijaipur are operating at full capacity .Urea being regularly despatched to the market for the benefit of farming community.
Ministry of Home Affairs
Government led by Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved the scheme - Modernisation Plan-IV for Central Armed Police Forces 
Modernisation Plan-IV with total financial outlay of Rs.1,523 crore to be implemented by Ministry of Home Affairs under guidance of Union Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah
Implementation of scheme will equip CAPFs to improve overall operational efficiency/preparedness
The Government has approved the scheme - Modernisation Plan-IV for Central Armed Police Forces  in continuation of the scheme “Modernisation Plan-III for CAPFs. The Modernisation Plan-IV will run from 01.02.2022 to 31.03.2026.
Modernisation Plan-IV for CAPFs with a total financial outlay of Rs.1,523 crore is to be implemented by the Ministry of Home Affairs under guidance of Union Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah and will equip the CAPFs with modern state-of-the-art weapons and equipment as per their operational requirement, keeping in view their deployment pattern in different theatres. Besides, upgraded IT solutions will also be provided to CAPFs.
Implementation of the scheme will equip CAPFs to improve the overall operational efficiency/preparedness which will positively impact the internal security scenario in the country. This would bolster the Government’s ability to address the challenges being faced on the International Border/LoC/LAC as well as in the different theatres, such as areas affected by Left Wing Extremism, Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and insurgency affected North Eastern States.
NW/RK/AY/RR
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Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
Hon’ble Minister of State for I&B visited DDK Srinagar and reviewed the work of Media Units including performance under Special Campaign 2.0 on Swacchata
The Honourable Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr L Murugan visited DDK Srinagar on 28th October 2022 and reviewed the work of Media Units under Ministry of I&B viz All India Radio, Doordarshan, Press Information Bureau and Central Bureau of Communication.
Shri S Sanjeev, DDG Doordarshan, Shri Ajay K Dohare DDG, All India Radio,Shri Rajinder Choudhry, ADG PIB / CBC and Senior Officers of Media Units were present. Presentations were made on achievements and the constraints faced in improving the services of the Media Unit further.
The Honourable Minister while reviewing the activities interacted with officers on various issues and gave instructions and guidance to improve the coverage of various Government Programmes being implemented in J&K.
The salient points among the suggestions and instructions of the Honourable Minister are as follows:
- The Media Units need to give more stress on publicity of the Developmental Programmes initiated by the Government of India and PMO with coverage from the field and feedback from the beneficiaries of these Developmental Programmes.
- Success Stories from the field which are outcomes of such Developmental Programmes needs to be highlighted
- More focused programme should be on developmental activities at the District level and review of the outcome of such Developmental Activities.
- The Govt of India is giving more stress on the Development of UT of J&K and Ministers of the different Departments are frequently visiting the State to follow up actively and review the progress of these Developmental Activities. The Media Units were instructed to give more coverage and publicity of these Government initiatives.
The Honourable Minister also reviewed the progress under Special Campaign 2.0 for Swachata implemented since 2nd Oct 2022 by all Media Units, through presentations. He then inspected the Doordarshan Kendra Srinagar by visiting the Office blocks and premises and gave instructions to improve Swachhata activities further and to maintain it.
UPSC
Recruitment Results Finalized By UPSC in November, 2022
The following Recruitment Results have been finalized by the Union Public Service Commission during the month of November, 2022. The recommended candidates have been informed individually by post.
Click here to see the link
Ministry of Science & Technology
Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh Holds First-Ever Joint Meeting of all Science Ministries and Departments
Union Minister of State  Science & Technology; Minister of State  Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today called upon the scientists of different Ministries and Departments to further enhance collaboration in the field of Research & Development so that our dependence on imports can be reduced considerably.
Addressing the first ever joint meeting of all Science Ministries and Departments here today, the Minister emphasised on the need for ground level collaboration among all science ministries to further step up research & development activities and collaboration with industriesand corporate houses.The present cooperation in scientific and human resource sectors needs to be streamlined and efforts should be made to give shape to an institutional mechanism at the earliest, the Minister added.Dr. Singh complimented the excellent R&D efforts being carried out by private sector industries.
The Minister pointed out that while different Science Ministries are making note-worthy contribution to nation building, they should not be working in isolation. Touching upon the Prime Minister’s mandate that scientific endeavour should be citizen-centric, Dr. Singh opined that the performance of Science Ministries and Departments should impact the lives of the common man.
Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government Prof. K Vijaya Raghavan, DG, CSIR & Secretary DSIR, Secretaries of the Department of Atomic Energy , Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, Department of Biotechnology and other senior scientists participated in the brain storming session. Chairman ISRO& Secretary Department of Space Dr. K Sivan who joined the meeting virtually, reiterated the importance of such a collaboration.
In the concluding session of the meeting, Minister Dr.Jitendra Singh said that such inter-ministerial meetings will be held every month to evolve an institutional mechanism. Subsequently efforts will be made to extend such collaboration outside the Government also, the Minister added.
Ministry of Textiles
Impact of Lockdown on Textile Sector
The global pandemic of Covid-19 affected the textile sector initially due to restriction of social gathering, migration of laborers as well as affecting all the stakeholders from farmers to traders/exporters in the value chain. However, the situation has improved in recent months and production and exports have looked up. At the same time, it has opened new window of opportunities which were previously less explored. India became globally the second largest manufacturer of PPEs.
Textiles sector being largely unorganized, no comprehensive information/details regarding impact of lockdown are available. However, level of production fell in jute, silk, etc.
The export of textiles and apparel decreased also for the period January, 2020 to November, 2020 due to the pandemic. But now export orders have started increasing.
No exhaustive data of MSME units in textile sector is available. However, as per the information of M/o Micro Small and Medium Enterprises , the total number of MSMEs registered under Udyog Aadhar Portal  in manufacturing of textiles and wearing apparel are 651512 and 428864 respectively . MSMEs registered under Udyamportal in manufacturing of textiles and wearing apparel are 115855 and 85564 respectively.
The production of man-made fibre, filament yarn and spun yarn increased during last three years: 2017-18 to 2019- 20. Similarly, the production and exports of Handicrafts also increased during this period.
This information was given in a written reply by the Union Minister of Textiles, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani in Lok Sabha today.
Prime Minister's Office
PM pays tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his Punya Tithi at Rajghat
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his Punya Tithi today at Rajghat in New Delhi.
The Prime Minister tweeted;
“Paid tributes to Bapu at Rajghat.”
Prime Minister's Office
PM extends best wishes to the Bhavina Patel for clinching the prestigious Gold Medal in Para Table Tennis
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has extended best wishes to the Bhavina Patel for clinching the prestigious Gold Medal in Para Table Tennis at Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022.
The Prime Minister said;
"The remarkable @BhavinaOfficial gives us one more occasion to be proud! She wins the prestigious Gold medal in Para Table Tennis, her first CWG medal. I hope her achievements motivate India's youth to pursue Table Tennis. I wish Bhavina the very best for her upcoming endeavours."
NITI Aayog
Startup20 Engagement Group hosts ‘Startup20-Embassies Meetup’ on Policy Communiqué at Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog
In a step that heralds a new era in the global startup ecosystem, the Startup20 engagement group today hosted an Embassy meetup at Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog. With a singular objective of provoking an impactful response from the leadership of G20 countries, this meeting marks a significant milestone in shaping the future of startups worldwide.
Esteemed representatives from countries like Denmark, Austria, Australia, Sweden, EU, Brazil, Oman, Canada, Indonesia, Mexico and Estonia actively participated in shaping policies that will drive the growth and success of startups across their respective nations.
The meeting built upon the overwhelming support received during the Inception meeting in January and the Sikkim Sabha in March 2023. It paved the way for upcoming events, including the highly anticipated gathering in Goa on June 3 and 4, 2023, followed by the final summit scheduled in Gurugram on July 4 and 5, 2023.
Participants at the meetup had the opportunity to provide inputs and comments on the first public draft of the Policy Communiqué, which represents policy recommendations generated through an inclusive consultative process. The process involved physical and virtual meetings with over 500 delegates representing various stakeholders from the startup ecosystems of India, G20 nations, and invitee nations.
The Startup20-Embassy exclusive meet brought together representatives responsible for startup-related agendas from different countries. Their collective wisdom and active engagement in discussions on recommendations and policy directives aims to target building a strong global startup ecosystem.
Key highlights of the meeting were how the participating countries could take the Policy Communiqué document to the actual stakeholders in the respective countries.
In addition, it was also discussed how G20 nations’ leadership in startup ecosystem can contribute to finalising the draft Policy Communiqué. Besides, agreement on common consensus by the G20 countries was also sought upon the daft Policy Communiqué.
"We are thrilled to witness such enthusiastic participation from embassy representatives at the G20-Startup20 Embassy meetup," said Dr. Chintan Vaishnav India’s Startup20 Chair. “Their valuable insights and contributions will be instrumental in driving the growth and success of startups worldwide. We believe that the policies shaped through this collaborative effort will set the stage for a vibrant and thriving global startup ecosystem."
The success of the G20 Startup20-Embassy meetup on Startup20 Policy Communiqué sets the stage for further collaboration and progress in the startup ecosystem.
The Startup20 engagement group, established for the first time under the G20, aims to set a benchmark for the structure and evolution of the startup ecosystem worldwide.
Ministry of Defence
Raksha Mantri participates in 9th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting plus in Cambodia; Calls for urgent & resolute global efforts to counter transnational & cross-border terrorism
“India advocates a free, open & inclusive Indo-Pacific region, calls for peaceful resolution of disputes while respecting the sovereignty & territorial integrity of all nations”
Must work together with positive intent towards a stable, safer & more secure world for future generations: Shri Rajnath Singh
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh participated in the 9th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting  Plus in Siem Reap, Cambodia on November 23, 2022. Defence Secretary Shri Giridhar Aramane, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee  Air Marshal BR Krishna and other senior officials of the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of External Affairs accompanied the Minister.
The ADMM Plus is an annual meeting of Defence Ministers of ten ASEAN countries and its eight dialogue partner countries, viz., India, USA, Russia, China, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. The year 2022 also marks the 30th Anniversary of India-ASEAN relations.
During his address to the ADMM Plus forum, Shri Rajnath Singh called for urgent and resolute global efforts to counter transnational and cross-border terrorism, terming it as the gravest threat to regional and global security. He pointed out that the global security environment has transformed fundamentally over the last few decades, with terrorist groups creating interlinkages across continents backed by new-age technologies to propagate ideologies, transfer money and recruit supporters.
The Raksha Mantri also drew the attention of the forum to the other security concerns that have emerged in the aftermath of the global COVID-19 pandemic, including challenges of Energy and Food Security. He stated that as a responsible member of the international community, India has worked with its partners, in extending humanitarian aid, medicines, vaccines and food grains on large scale.
Shri Rajnath Singh reiterated India’s commitment to nurturing practical, forward-looking and result-oriented cooperation between India and ADMM Plus countries for enhancing the maritime security in the region and safety of the global commons. He asserted that India advocates a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region and calls for peaceful resolution of disputes while respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations. In this context, he stated that the ongoing ASEAN-China negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea should be fully consistent with international law, in particular United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea  and should not prejudice the legitimate rights and interests of nations that are not party to these discussions.
The Raksha Mantri called upon all the member states to work together with a positive intent, towards a stable, safer and more secure world for our future generations.
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
1st India-EU High Level Dialogue on Trade and Investment held
The 1st High Level Dialogue , co-chaired by the Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal and the European Union Executive Vice-President & Trade Commissioner Mr. Valdis Dombrovskis, was held on 5th February 2021.
Commitment to the establishment of this Dialogue was a major outcome of the 15th India-EU Leader’s Summit held in July 2020, with an objective for a Ministerial level guidance towards the bilateral trade and investment relations.
During the discussions, in the HLD, the Ministers emphasized the importance of global cooperation and solidarity in a post COVID-19 era and agreed for further deepening of bilateral trade and investment relationship through a series of regular engagements, aiming at quick deliverable for the businesses in these tough times.
The Ministers also agreed to meet within the next three months, with an objective for reaching consensus on a host of bilateral trade & investment cooperation issues viz. a bilateral Regulatory Dialogue; an India-EU Multilateral Dialogue to explore further possibilities of cooperation; etc.
In a significant step forward, regular interactions for re-initiation of bilateral trade and investment agreements, with an interim agreement, to start with, were also discussed.
The Ministers concluded with the confidence and commitment towards a renewed India-EU commercial and economic partnership reflecting full potential of bilateral commercial relations.